A Johnstown man accused of exposing himself and masturbating in front of three women in State College movie theaters in 2005 had his most serious charge -- attempted rape -- dropped from the list of charges he faces.

Fred G. Dravis, 50, is accused of following a 23-year-old Penn State student out of Premiere Theaters to her car, pulling down her pants, masturbating and ejaculating on her in the parking lot, according to an October 2005 State College Police Department press release.

He is also accused of masturbating in front of two other women the same night, Oct. 8, 2005. Both of those incidents occurred inside Carmike Cinema 6, 501 Benner Pike, about a mile away from Premiere Theaters, 125 Premiere Drive.

Dravis still faces charges of attempted sexual assault, indecent assault, indecent exposure, open lewdness, stalking, disorderly conduct and harassment.

The dropped attempted rape charge carried a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.

It was dropped because it "didn't fit the elements," Centre County Assistant District Attorney Lance Marshall said.

Dravis' lawyer, Brian Manchester, said testimony given by the woman who accused Dravis of pulling down her pants in the parking lot is not consistent with the charge of attempted rape.

Manchester also contested the attempted sexual assault charge levied by the commonwealth. Marshall said the commonwealth does not plan on withdrawing that charge.

Manchester said he is still waiting to see if the sexual assault charge, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, will be withdrawn by Centre County Judge Thomas Kistler, who is handling the case.

Attempted rape and attempted sexual assault are both felony charges, Manchester said. The rest of Dravis' charges are misdemeanors.

Manchester said his client denies that anything happened in the parking lot of the Premiere Theaters. There are surveillance tapes of the inside of the theater but not the parking lot, Manchester said.

"My client's maintaining nothing happened in that parking lot. He did not attempt to rape her," Manchester said.

Marshall declined to respond to Manchester's claims that no assault occurred in the theater's parking lot.

"That's why we have trials," Marshall said.

Dravis was arrested after State College police received a tip from the Logan Township Police Department in Altoona, where Dravis had been arrested in connection with a similar incident in August 2004.

Dravis is due in court Thursday for his pretrial conference.